LASHALA
by NovaAni-Bookworm1
Summary: A new girl from England meets Marco. My first...be gentle.


**__**

Lashala

By:Ani-Bookworm#1

A/N: You pronounce Lashala: La-SHAY-la, and Sha is pronounced SHAY. Some of this might seem almost similar to "Responsibility" by Tobiasrulz, but it's mere coincidence. Unique ideas are hard to come by. PLEASE DON'T FRY AND/OR SPAM ME!!!!!! I'm just a Marco obsesser writing her first story. Okay? Good. Hope you like it! (Be gentle, I'm bad with criticism.)

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PROLOGUE

"But Mum! I don't _want_ to move! All my friends are _here_!" Lashala yelled at her mom.

"Honey, it's for my job. This is a huge promotion! Besides, you'll make lots of new friends." Her mother replied. Lashala glared at her mother and stormed upstairs to the room she shared with her twin sister. Everyone assumed that since they were twins they'd look identical, but they looked _nothing_ alike. They didn't even have the same coloring.

"You look angry. Mum told you, wuh?" Lennette asked.

"Yes, Lenny. Don't you care, we've lived here our whole lives!"

"Exactly, Sha! It's time for a change of scenery!"

Lashala didn't answer. She just put a pillow over her head and went to sleep.

****

PART ONE

Lashala: We got to our new country, new town, and new house on a Saturday. It was a lovely house, but I was in a foul mood so I barely noticed. 

That Monday we started school. After getting lost about twice, I finally found my locker. I'd just gotten it closed when these two boys coming down the hall caught my eye. I looked over to see them better as the taller one stopped to open what I suppose was his locker. 

The shorter one grabbed myattention almost immediately. I looked him over. He had short, really dark brown hair, almost black; and lovely deep chocolate colored eyes. His eyes were so pretty it seemed a shame to waste them on a boy. He had olive skin, so I could guess that he was probably Hispanic. All in all, he was incredibly cute. He turned his head and caught my gaze. He smiled at me and I gave a shy one back. My sister walked up to me then, and he started walking towards us!

Marco: "Whoa! Jake, check out the new girl. She's hot!" I said to my best buddy, Jake. He's the leader of the Animorphs. If you're reading this, I'm sure you know the whole yeerk/Animorph bit. So I'm not going to bother with it. Instead I'll tell you about the new girl.

She looked around my height; had shoulder length wavy reddish-brown hair; green eyes that sparkled; and a handful of freckles sprinkled across her nose. What can I say? I'm a sucker for freckles.

I smiled at her, and she smiled back. I nearly melted. She had a beautiful smile, and her eyes sparkled even more, if that was even possible.

Another girl joined her then. This one had straight, long blond hair; brown eyes; and was taller then the first one.

"Jake, I'm gonna' go say hi." 

Jake rolled his eyes."Go on. I always new you'd leave me in a second for a pretty girl."

I shook my head, disbelieving, then walked towards where the girls were standing.

"Hi, my name's Marco." I said when I got there. She flashed that amazing smile again.

"Hello Marco. My name's Lashala, but you can call me Sha." The other girl elbowed her. "Oh, and this is my sister, Lennette." She had a smooth British accent.

"Lenny." Lennette corrected, shaking my hand. I nodded, but couldn't take my eyes off Sha.

"So, um, Sha…what's your first class?" 'Real smooth, Marco.' I said to myself.

"History, room 118." She answered.

"Hey! Mine, too. Can I walk you?" I asked.

"Okay." She answered, taking my arm. We started walking. We walked past Jake and he raised his eyebrows in amusement. I just smirked at him.

We got to class and she took the seat next to mine. I just kinda' stared at her all through class.

Lashala: "Marco?!" The history teacher, Mr. Lyden, said for the sixth time. Marco finally jerked back to reality.

"Huh?" The rest of the class snickered and I tried to hide a smile. I could tell he'd been staring at me. Was that a good thing?

"So kind of you to join us, Marco. Now could you kindly answer the question?"

"Um…32?"

"This is history, Marco. Not math."

"Okay…then, 1783?" The class snickered yet again. The teacher let out an exasperated sigh and looked like he'd like to throw him out the window.

After class, Marco helped me gather up my books. I smiled gratefully and he smiled back.

"Let me see your schedule." He said. I handed it to him and he scanned it.

"Okay, do you know your way around school yet?" I bit my bottom lip and shook my head. He ran his hand through his hair.

"Hmm… well you'll meet Jake, Rachel, and Cassie at lunch. So, Jake has fifth with 'ya, and so does Rachel, then she has sixth with 'ya, and I have second, third, fourth, sixth and seventh with you. So I'll show you to all your classes until lunch, then Jake for fifth, Rachel for sixth, and me again for seventh." He said, handing my schedule back to me.

"Thank you General Marco, sir!" I joked with a mock salute. He smirked at me.

"Veeery funny. Just wait 'till you see Jake. I've got nothing on his leadership qualities!" Then he happened to glance up at the clock. "Oh, great! Come on! We're sooo going to be late! He grabbed my arm and started to run.

Marco: We made it through the rest of the day and I walked with Sha to her locker. I'd already gotten my stuff. 

I leaned against the locker next to hers.

"So maybe we could, like, um, go to a movie or something. There's a bus stop right around the corner, and none of the teachers gave any homework tonight. Might as well take advantage of the small miracle that has bestowed upon us." I asked her, half smiling.

She smiled widely and shut her locker.

"I'd love to go to the mall with you, Marco. But I have to give my mum a ring fist. Is there a telephone I could use?"

A ring? Huh? A phone… oh! She has to phone her mom!

"Yah, at the office. Come on." I shifted my backpack to my other shoulder and led the way to the principal's office.

"How much will it cost?" She asked me once we got there.

"Nothing." I answered.

"Really? At my old school it cost four pence to use the headmasters telephone."

"How much would that be American?

"Haven't the foggiest." She answered giggling. She had a very pretty laugh. It reminded me of my mother's. My _real_ mom, not Visser One.

I held the door open for Sha and she went in. She looked uncertain of what to do, so I took her by the hand and led her to the Secretary's desk.

"Hi Miss Nelson." I greeted her.

"Hello Marco. So, what did you do _this _time?" I rolled my Eyes.

"Nothing, she needs to use the phone." I answered pointing to Sha. Miss Nelson moved the phone closer to Sha.

"Here you go. Just dial nine, then the number."

Lashala picked up the phone, pressed nine and frowned.

"Marco, would you kindly reach into my rucksack and hand me the small green notebook?"

I thought for a moment. Rucksack? Hmmm…oh! Her backpack. 

I unzipped it and pulled out the notebook she wanted.

"I forgot the number." She explained sheepishly.

She found the number, dialed it, and waited for a few seconds.

"Hello, Mum? I'm going to the mall…With a friend…Marco…Yes, a boy…Alright, see you at 6:30…Love you, too. Cheerio." She turned to me. "Come on, or we'll miss our coach!" She exclaimed, tugging my arm to tell me to move faster as we headed out the door.

Once we got to the step she stopped me.

"Where's the stop?" She asked

"Right on that corner, where the booth is."

She smiled mischievously. "Would you fancy a race?"

"Sure. On your mark, get set,"

"Go!" She cut me off and started running. She was a lot faster then me and won by around five feet.

"I was…on…the…track team…in school." She explained when I commented on how fast she ran, while catching her breath.

The bus came. It was a city bus, but a fairly clean one. I had a bus pass, but Sha had to pay $2.50. It took her a few moments to count out the correct change because she wasn't used to American money. 

We sat near the back. The ride took around fifteen minutes, so we talked a little. 

We arrived at the mall and Sha immediately dragged me over to The Limited. Rachel and Cassie were there. They spotted us and walked over.

"Help me." Cassie whispered.

"Help _you_? My reputation's on the line. Man, I cannot be seen boutique-hopping." I hissed back.

Rachel gave us both a Look.

"So Marco, you'll go clothes shopping with Sha, but not with _me_?" She asked, then turned to Sha. "He must really liiike you."

I blushed. Sha blushed. Rachel smirked. Cassie hid a smile. There was an awkward silence until Rachel turned towards a rack.

"Oh, Cass! That dress is _perfect_ for you!" 

She reached out her hand and it came back clutching the hanger of a short, navy blue, noodle strap dress. Cassie looked horrified as Rachel dragged her to the dressing rooms. Lashala and I followed. (I stayed outside the front door.)

Two minutes later, Rachel knocked on the door.

"'Ya done yet, Cass?"" She called.

"I'm not coming out! Came the muffled reply.

"Come _on_!"

"Fine, but you have to promise you won't laugh."

"Don't worry, Cassie. We wouldn't do that." Sha reassured her.

She opened the door. I let out a low whistle.

"Boy, Jake'll be sorry he didn't come!" Rachel exclaimed.

"You could be a page 3 girl." Sha commented. I looked at her.

"I think you call them 'models'." I wish she'd learn to speak properly!

Lashala: Marco and I left Rachel and Cassie to do some more clothes shopping.

"Why don't we go to the Cinema?" I suggested.

"Sure, it's that way." Marco told me, pointing right.

"What movie do you want to see?" He asked once we'd reached the cinema.

"I've heard that _Mumford_ was good." I answered.

"One Shrink flic, comin' up." He replied, grinning. 

He went up and paid for our tickets. 

When he came back he said, "The show starts in ten minutes. Let's go in so we can get good seats." We walked into theatre nine and took seats towards the center. 

"Oh no! I forgot the popcorn!" Marco exclaimed.

"That's alright. I'm not feeling terribly peckish at the moment. We can buy something to eat after the picture. Or when we get home. He calmed down.

The opening credits started then. I glanced over at him from the corner of my eye. He started to raise his arm, but quickly thought better of it.

I reached over, took his hand, placed his arm over my shoulders, and put my head on his shoulder. We watched the picture in silence.

***

After the film I rubbed my eyes, they felt weird from staring at the screen so long.

"You wanna' get something to eat now?" Marco asked once we'd exited.

"Alright." We made our way through the mall crowd to the food hall. Jake, Rachel, Cassie, and two boys I didn't recognize were there. They noticed us soon after I noticed them.

"Hey, Marco! Sha! Over here!" Rachel called, motioning for us to come to the table. 

Marco sighed and rolled his eyes. "Hey guys." He greeted them once we'd walked over. "Sha, I'd like you to meet Tobias and A…er…Phillip. Jake and Rachel's cousin."

"Hello." I said, smiling slightly.

"Why don't you guys join us?" Jake asked, motioning to two empty chairs. I bit my bottom lip, it's something I do when I'm worried, or confused, or afraid, or something like that. Something about Tobias made me feel somewhat uneasy. He tended to stare and used jerky movements. I know it sounds silly, but he reminded me of a hawk I'd seen attack a boy when I was three. 

Marco glanced at me. "Nah. We were just going to sit over there." He replied. He sounded almost angry. At me? At Jake? 

I saw him mouth the words,'Quit it.' to Jake.

He led me by my hand to a table on the other side of the food hall. We decided what we wanted and he went to get it. When he returned I glanced at the clock above the sign for Pizza Hut.

"Oh no! It's nearly 6:30! My mum will be terribly upset with me if I'm late!"

"Then I guess this food's to go." Marco replied, grabbing his rucksack.

We ran out of the mall and just barely caught our coach. We rode it to our stop.

"How 'bout I walk you home?" Marco asked. I smiled and took his outstretched hand. We arrived at my front door.

"See 'ya in school tomorrow." He said.

"I'll see you, too." I replied. Without warning, he leaned over and kissed my cheek.

"Bye." He said, and walked away. I watched him in awe until he was out of sight, my hand on my cheek.

I opened the door and walked in.

"Mum! I'm home!" I called on my way up the stairs.

Lenny intercepted me in the hall.

"Is there something wrong with my eyes, or did that gorgeous boy from this morning just kiss you?" She inquired.

"Lenny! You were spying on me?"

"Yes, now did he?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"And I'll consider telling you later."

"Girls! It's time for tea!" Mum called up the stairs.

"I ate!" I yelled back down. I went into my room and turned on my telly to see if the Yanks had any good Monday night programs.

Marco: Okay, I'd just kissed Sha… and she didn't slap me. I do believe that's the first time that's ever happened.

Anyway, "Dad? I'm home!" I called once I got home, throwing my backpack onto the ground.

"Hi Sweetie." Sylvia greeted me. I glared at her.

"Don't call me 'sweetie'. Where's Dad?" I replied coldly.

"He went to the store. He'll be back in a few minutes."

"Fine, I'll be in my room." I spun on my heal and tore upstairs. I turned on my TV and plopped down on my bed.

Let me explain who Sylvia is and what she's doing in my house. She's my step-mom. She and my dad got married about a month ago. I hate her. 

She has long brown hair that she always wears in a ponytail; blue eyes and is about as tall as my dad. 

My real mom 'died' four years ago, and _died_ about eight months ago, soon after my dad started dating seriously. Confused? Well, see, my mom supposedly drowned four years ago when she took our boat out during a storm. They found the boat, but not her.

Two years later, I found out she was alive and well… as well as you can be with Visser One wrapped around your brain. Then she drowned again, in an underwater yeerk station. 

Then, _surprise_! She's back, but demoted and in disguise. She dies again, with a plan formed by me, by falling off a cliff.

Then… she's ba-ack. We've got a regular Catwoman on our hands. But, her nine lives ran out. She died one last time. This time for sure and certain.

She'd somehow made peace with the Council of Thirteen and was about to tell Visser Three how the 'Andalite Bandits' were just a bunch of human kids. That's when we decided to crash the party. My mom gained control in the confusion and took a Dracon beam shot meant for me. When she was hit, the yeerk, that scum, bailed. I 'accidentally' stepped on him. Oops. Jake told me to go and I carried her out, still in my Gorilla morph. I demorphed and knelt down next to her. She smiled weakly.

"So it's true. My baby boy is saving the world. Who are the others?"

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. "Jake's the tiger. Rachel, his cousin, is the bear; Cassie_______, from Kindergarten? She's the wolf; this new kid, Tobias_____ is the hawk. A Nothlit. And Ax, Aximilli-Esgarrouth-Isthill, is the only real Andalite."

She laughed softly. "I can see why you call him Ax." I thought of something.

"Mom, on the cliff, I… I mean, you…"

"Don't worry, my little Marco. I love you."

"I love you too,Mommy." I started to cry again. My sobs were muffled when she hugged me. I hugged her back tightly. Once she pulled back she kissed my forehead and smoothed back my hair like she did when I was little and I was upset. She laid her head down, smiled and closed her eyes.

"Good bye, my little Marco. Remember I love you and stay free." With that, my mother drew her last breath and died.

"Good bye, Mom." I whispered.

Later, I morphed Gorilla and carried her to her favorite spot. It was a grassy ledge by the beach overlooking the ocean, with a huge cherry blossom tree I used to climb when I was younger. She used to take me there before she…'died' and we'd watch the sunset and the stars come out. 

My friends helped me bury her under the tree's shade. The only marker of the gravesite was her and my dad's initials (before they were married) carved into the tree trunk. And the number's for my Birthday. It was their favorite spot when they were dating.

The sound of my dad's car coming up the driveway jerked me out of my daydream. I realized I'd been crying, so I went into my bathroom to wash my face.

"Hey Dad." I greeted him as he walked in the door.

"Hi Marco!" He answered cheerfully.

"Good day?"

"Uh-huh. Hi Honey." He greeted Sylvia as she entered the room. They kissed and I frowned.

"What do you want for supper?" I asked automatically. Sylvia gave me a strange look.

"I'm making supper Marco." Oops. I'd gotten used to cooking.

"Here's the chicken you wanted." My dad said, carrying the bag he was holding into the kitchen. Sylvia followed him.

"Dinner'll be ready in about ten minutes." She called over her shoulder.

"I ate at the mall. I'm going to Jake's house, Dad!" Before they could object, I grabbed my coat and ran out the door. It was to cold for any thermals, seeing as how it was the middle of February, so I walked. Once I got there I knocked on the door. Tom answered.

"Hey Tom, is Jake home?" 

"Yeah, come in. JAKE! MARCO'S HERE!!" he yelled.

Jake came running down the stairs.

"Hey, Marco. Come on up to my room." I raced up the stairs that were as familiar as my own and we turned into his room. He closed the door.

"What's up?" He asked, sitting on his desk chair.

"Guess who I was with all afternoon?" I asked. He already knew, but that's not the point.

"The _other_ kids in detention?" He joked. I glared at him.

"No. The new girl, Sha. And I kissed her."

"And she didn't slap you?"

"_No_."

"Wow, she's a keeper."

"Ha. Ha. Hey, were you guys following us?"

"Yeah…but we had to watch her!" I glared at him, but quickly started talking again. We talked about regular stuff, you know. Like how bad a cook Sylvia is, who could kick who's but in Street Fighter, Homer's new trick, etc. Not once did we mention the yeerks. It had been a yeerk-free day. If only I could keep myself from nightmaring (is that a word?) about them, it could stay that way. But, it was not to be.

Later on, around 3:30 am, I heard a "tap, tap, tap" at my window. I got up groggily and opened it so the owl could fly in. 

"Rachel?" I asked. But I was half asleep, so it sounded more like, "Rayfow?"

Yeah, it's me, Sleeping Beauty. Come on, meeting in the barn

"Fine, fine." I mumbled, grabbing my morphing outfit and heading to the closet to change. When I came out, Rachel was still there. It didn't surprise me. She was probably trying to make sure I didn't just go back to bed. 

I started morphing. My teeth melted together with my lips then pushed forward to form a beak. I started shrinking and while that was happening, the patterns of feathers drew themselves across my skin, popping into 3D. Last, my eyes grew rounder and more focused and my ears and hair sucked into my head. 

Come on. Let's do it! Rachel said before flying out my window. 

Once we got to the barn we landed and demorphed. Everyone else was already there, including Ax and Tobias.

"Now all we need is Erek." Jake said.

"Uh-oh." I commented.

Jake: "So, you're probably all wondering why we're here" I started.

"That would be a good thing to answer. I'm very close to being busted. Sylvia and her 'adorable' seven year old are light sleepers." Marco complained. He's very grumpy when he doesn't get enough sleep. The seven-year-old is Chelsie; Sylvia's daughter and Marco's step sister.

"Anyway, the yeerks are testing a new weapon made by the Glenotes, or something like that I heard Tom talking about it over the phone. Erek'll be here in a few to give us more information." I concluded.

"Might you mean the 'Gleenanotes', Prince Jake?" Ax asked. "That makes a pleasurable feeling in my mouth. Glee. Gleeeyah." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, that's it, Ax. 'Ya know anything about them?" 

"Yes. Suh. Yesss. They are highly intelligent and build their weapons for entertainment."

"Boy, they sound like fun." Marco mumbled.

"Even so, their most powerful could destroy fifteen Andalite domeships plus a small planet." Ax continued.

"Better and better." Marco commented.

"Okay, this could be a problem. We're going to have to attack before they get it in working order, and destroy it." I rubbed the bridge of my nose. I felt a headache coming on.

"Prince Jake. I have nineteen of your minutes left in morph. Would you mind if I demorphed now?"

"Sure, Ax. Go ahead." Ax started the morphing process. As soon as his stalk eyes appeared, we heard the scream come from the bushes near the window of Cassie's barn.

Lashala: "Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!! Aaaaahhhh!!! Aaaaaahhhhh!!!!!" I screamed until everyone came running out of the barn and Marco clamped his hand over my mouth.

"Shhh! Cassie's parents will wake up!" He whispered fiercely. I nodded my head and he put his hand down. 

"Wha-what is that?" I asked, pointing a shaky finger at what _had _been Phillip. They all glanced at each other. Jake nodded.

"Lets go into the barn." He suggested. As soon as I stood up I clutched Marco's arm like a little girl with her daddy. I don't know why, he just felt safe. We went into the barn and he sat me down on a bail of hay.

"Have you ever heard the word 'yeerk'?" Rachel asked. I shook my head.

"How about, 'Andalite'?" I shook my head again.

"What about 'Elfangor'?"

"No." She looked me in the eyes. She turned back to the others.

"Well, she _did_ just move here three days ago. And it was a week's trip. _And _she saw Ax go Andalite and didn't freak out…in the way Controllers would, anyway…but, I don't know."

"Is 'Ax' what Phillip's real name is?" I asked almost shyly. Cassie nodded.

"Have you ever been to a club called 'The Sharing'?" She asked.

"No, but my sister was thinking of going with her mates on Saturday." They grouped off again, talked a few moments, and finally agreed. Marco came over and sat next to me.

"Okay, Sha. We're going to tell you something. It's _all_ true. See, about two years ago, we were walking home from the mall. And, being the geniuses that we are; we decided to cut through an abandoned construction site…" they continued to tell me about meeting Elfangor, getting the power to 'morph', fighting the yeerks, etc. Then, one by one, they morphed. I almost threw up. It was revolting! They all resumed their natural forms once more.

"Why are you trusting me?" I questioned. They shrugged their shoulders.

"You just plain _can't_ be yeerked. It's impossible." Jake replied.

"Why? I _have _been here three days." I pointed out. Why was I doing this to myself?

"Yes, but Chapman hasn't asked you to join The Sharing yet, and you have to be a member at _least_ a couple of days." He replied.

"Besides, yeerks wouldn't push their luck." Cassie pointed out.

The only question is: should we give her the morphing power? Tobias asked. I still jumped a little whenever I heard his thought speak 'voice'.

"No, I wouldn't fancy having them right yet. Maybe you should get to know me better, give me a trial period. Remember David? I mean, I _do_ want to help you fight. But before I morph I could help you plan out attacks. I'm smashing at strategizing." I spoke up before anyone else could answer.

"Sure. Why not? Trial period sounds great to me." Marco said. The others gave their agreements. I smiled widely at my new friends and teammates, the Animorphs. 


End file.
